Method for making coated chewing gum products including a high-intensity sweetener

ABSTRACT

A method of making coated chewing gum products comprises the steps of providing chewing gum cores; providing a first coating syrup comprising a bulk sweetener; providing a second coating syrup separate from the first coating syrup and comprising a high-intensity sweetener; and applying the first and second coating syrups to the cores and drying the syrups to produce a coating on the cores. Calcium carbonate or another antacid may be incorporated in the coating by being mixed into the first coating syrup.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods for producing coated chewinggum products. More particularly, the invention relates to producingcoated chewing gum products containing a high-intensity sweetener in thecoating. Preferably, an antacid is also added to the chewing gum coatingsuch that it will have a fast release from chewing gum for maximumeffectiveness.

Coated chewing gum products are well known. Many prior art patentsdisclose chewing gum products coated with sugar sweeteners or polyolsweeteners. U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,838, for example, discloses a method ofapplying a sugarless coating to chewing gum. The coating may includecalcium carbonate as an anti-sticking agent. Synthetic sweeteners,including many different high-intensity sweeteners, are also suggestedfor use in the coating.

It has been discovered that some high-intensity sweeteners, particularlyaspartame (APM), are unstable and degrade while in the coating syrup.Often the coating syrup is made in advance and held at an elevatedtemperature for several hours until it is used.

Another area of interest is the use of medicaments in chewing gum. Incertain embodiments, it is contemplated that an active medicament thatis added to the chewing gum is generally released very readily. Anactive medicament may be added to the gum coating which is a watersoluble matrix such that, during the chewing period, the medicament maybe released quickly, resulting in a fast release. This would allow achewing gum coating to be a carrier for an active medicament with thesefast release characteristics.

It is of course known to provide active medicaments to individuals forvarious purposes. These medicaments can be used to treat diseases and assuch are typically referred to as drugs or medicaments. Likewise, thedrugs or medicaments can be used for preventative purposes. Still, it isknown to provide medicaments to an individual for a variety ofnon-medical purposes including enhancing performance or maintaininghealth.

There are a great variety of such medicaments. These medicaments run thegamut from stimulants such as caffeine to drugs such as analgesics,tranquilizers and cardiovascular products, as well as vitamins,minerals, and supplements. Some such medicaments, such as antacids, aretaken on an “as needed” basis while other medicaments must be taken atregular intervals by the individual.

Antacids are used to relieve gastrointestinal disturbances. Theseantacids are generally insoluble inorganic salts such as calciumcarbonate, magnesium carbonate, calcium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide,or aluminum hydroxide. These antacids readily neutralize acids in the GItract and are commonly available in or as antacid tablets.

Previously, antacids have been added to chewing gum and in a chewing gumcoating, but have not been totally consumer acceptable. The large amountof active antacid needed for effectiveness did not lend itself to givinga good tasting product. Also, the presence of sugar in the antacidchewing gum or coated on the chewing gum was not consumer acceptable.However, new types of sugarless coated chewing gum preparations withhigh-intensity sweeteners and quality flavors can be effective to makenew antacid-type chewing gum preparations that can be more consumeracceptable.

It has been found that by adding the antacid to a gum coating, theantacid is quickly released from the chewing gum into saliva and intothe gastrointestinal (GI) tract. However, one of the difficulties thathas been encountered in adding an antacid to a chewing gum coating isthat the antacid, being basic, raises the pH of the coating syrup. Thishas been found to exacerbate the problem mentioned above regardingdegradation of some high-intensity sweeteners used in coating syrups.

Thus, there is a need for a way to make coated chewing gum products thatinclude high-intensity sweeteners that allows the high-intensitysweetener to be well distributed in the coating but avoids anydegradation of unstable high-intensity sweeteners. It would especiallybe an improvement if an antacid could be included in a chewing gumcoating without causing degradation of high-intensity sweeteners alsoused in the coating.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has been found that if a high-intensity sweetener is mixed into aseparate coating syrup from the main coating syrup that needs to be heldat an elevated temperature, the separate syrup does not need to beheated and the high-intensity sweetener has less degradation. Also, anantacid like calcium carbonate can be added to the main coating syrupand thus be included in the gum coating without exacerbating a problemof the high-intensity sweetener degradation.

In a first aspect, the invention is a method of making coated chewinggum products comprising the steps of: providing chewing gum cores;providing a first coating syrup comprising a bulk sweetener; providing asecond coating syrup separate from the first coating syrup andcomprising a high-intensity sweetener; and applying the first and secondcoating syrups to the cores and drying the syrups to produce a coatingon the cores.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of deliveringan antacid to an individual that provides for relief of symptoms causedby gastrointestinal disturbances. It is believed that providing theantacid in a chewing gum coating makes it more effective. Thus, anadvantage of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide amethod of administering an antacid to an individual at a lower levelthan is typically administered orally while still achieving the sameeffect.

Low levels of calcium carbonate in the coating are also useful. In amalitol coating, added calcium carbonate helps to reduce chipping of thefinal pellet coating. In a xylitol coated product, added calciumcarbonate gives an improved pellet crunch. Other improvements in crunch,smoothness and shelf life may be found when other polyols are used for acoated chewing gum.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The method of the present invention involves the use of at least twoseparate coating syrups. The first syrup will include a bulk sweetener.The second syrup will include a high-intensity sweetener. Additionalcoating syrups may also be used, such as finishing syrups, which alsoinclude a bulk sweetener. When an antacid is to be included in thecoating, it will preferably be included in the first coating syrup.Preferably the first coating syrup is essentially free of high-intensitysweeteners, meaning that the syrup does not contain any, or containssuch a low amount of high-intensity sweetener that the high-intensitysweetener does not provide a perceptible additional sweetness.

The first and second coating syrups are applied to chewing gum cores toform the coated chewing gum product. The application can be sequentialor simultaneous. Simultaneous application includes applying the twosyrups at the same time through different application mechanisms, orpremixing the syrups and applying them through a common applicationmechanism. The preferred application method includes applying the syrupsseparately, but alternately. For example, one of the coating syrups maybe applied both before and after the application of the other coatingsyrup. Specifically, the first coating syrup may be applied, followed byapplication of the second coating syrup, followed by further applicationof the first coating syrup.

This type of application will generally mean that the coating syrups areheld in separate tanks from the time they are prepared until they areapplied to the cores. If the syrups are mixed and applied together theyshould preferably be mixed just prior to being applied to the chewinggum cores. The amount of time that they may be mixed before applicationwill depend on the rate that the high-intensity sweetener degrades.Preferably they will be mixed for less than about 30 minutes prior toapplication.

Preferably the first coating syrup is held for use at an averagetemperature of at least 100° F. (38° C.), more preferably at least 130°F. ((54° C.) and most preferably at an average temperature of at least150° F. (66° C.). The average holding time between preparation andapplication of the first coating syrup will preferably be at least twohours, more preferably at least four hours. Average holding times andtemperatures take into account the fact that coating syrups are usuallymade in batches and used up over a period of time. For example, if acoating syrup were made at 8:00 a.m., and used at a steady rate from9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the average holding time would be five hours.The second coating syrup is preferably held at an average temperature ofless than 90° F. (32° C.) and for an average period of less than 4hours.

The second coating syrup will preferably also include a bulk sweetenerat a lower level than in the first coating syrup. To make a preferredsecond coating syrup, a high-intensity sweetener is blended in a syrupwith a portion of a bulk sweetener, preferably a polyol. Preferably thesweeteners in the second syrup are used at a ratio of about 5:1 to about1:5, more preferably about 1:1, high-intensity sweetener: bulksweetener. The second coating syrup may preferably be about 50% solidsand be held at room temperature. Since aspartame is not highly solubleat room temperature, the preferred second coating syrup is a solution ofthe polyol with aspartame suspended in water. A coating syrup thatincludes undissolved compounds is referred to as a suspension syrup.

As mentioned above, products made by the present invention maypreferably include an antacid, such as calcium carbonate. The antacidwill preferably be included as part of the first coating syrup. Atypical first syrup may contain a polyol, calcium carbonate andwhitener, and a typical second syrup may contain the high-intensitysweetener and a polyol, but no calcium carbonate. This keeps the coatingsyrup containing calcium carbonate separate from the coating syrupcontaining aspartame. Once the coating syrups are applied and dried,degradation of aspartame is eliminated or substantially reduced.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the antacid iscontained in the coating of chewing gum products, which allows a chewinggum coating to be a carrier for an antacid. Accordingly, as the chewinggum is chewed, the active antacid in the gum coating is released intothe saliva and ingested to give relief from gastrointestinal (GI)disturbances in the GI tract.

The preferred antacids are generally carbonate or hydroxide salts ofcalcium, magnesium, aluminum, or bismuth, and are generally very waterinsoluble. Other antacids such as sodium bicarbonate, calciumbicarbonate, and other carbonates, silicates, and phosphates areincluded in this invention. When these materials are mixed with acids inthe GI tract, the acids are readily neutralized to give relief from GIdisturbances. Some typical consumer antacid products are: TUMS, whichcontains calcium carbonate; MILK of MAGNESIA, which contains magnesiumhydroxide, and MAALOX PLUS, which contains a combination of aluminumhydroxide and magnesium hydroxide.

For antacid chewing gum products, calcium carbonate is the mostpreferred antacid material. This is mostly due to the fact that the mostcommon inert filler in chewing gum base is calcium carbonate. Calciumcarbonate, along with talc, which is used in talc bases that are usedfor some types of gum products that use food acids to give tartness toflavors, have been used as fillers in gum base and gum products for manyyears.

Chewing gum bases that contain calcium carbonate do not readily releasetheir calcium carbonate during chewing. Since calcium carbonate (or inother cases talc) is very water insoluble, it releases from gum eithervery slowly or over extended chewing. As a result, this calciumcarbonate is not effective as an antacid. Generally, when calciumcarbonate is added to a gum formulation separate from the gum base,calcium carbonate becomes intimately mixed with the base during chewingand also does not release. However, when calcium carbonate is used inthe coating of the chewing gum, it does become available in the oralcavity and is ingested to be an effective antacid.

In the past, suspension coatings with calcium carbonate for an antacidgum were made with sugar. Sugar with its naturally sweet taste maskedsome of the off-taste due to the use of high levels of calciumcarbonate. With the advent of new coating technologies using less sweetsugarless polyols instead of sugar, the sweet taste of the coating issignificantly reduced. In some coatings where xylitol is used, it issufficiently sweet as a coating, but other polyols such as maltitol,hydrogenated isomaltulose, sorbitol, or erythritol, are not. When thecoating contains high levels of calcium carbonate, all of the polyolslack sufficient sweetness to give a good tasting product. As a result,high-intensity sweeteners need to be added to the coating containingcalcium carbonate to give a high-quality, consumer-acceptable product.

Use of high levels of calcium carbonate of greater than about 10% in asuspension coating, preferably greater than about 15% in a suspensioncoating, causes an increase of the pH of the suspension coatingsolution. At pH's of about 6 and higher, many of the high-intensitysweeteners such as acesulfame K, sucralose, saccharin, cyclamates,glycyrrhizin, or thaumatin are stable in this type of suspension, butdipeptide sweeteners such as aspartame (commonly sold under thetradename Nutrasweet), alitame and neotame, are less stable. Forexample, a maltitol coating syrup containing: 64% maltitol, 19.5%solution of gum arabic, 0.5% titanium dioxide, 0.35% aspartame, and15.65% water has a pH of 4.8. When stored at 167° F. (75° C.) for 7hours, 11% aspartame is lost. When 11% of the maltitol is replaced withcalcium carbonate, the pH increases to 6.0, and when stored at 167° F.(75° C.) for 7 hours, 80% of the aspartame is lost. Even when coatingsyrups with aspartame, but without an antacid like calcium carbonate,are held for many hours before use, aspartame is lost. The inventionwill be most useful when the high-intensity sweetener is one thatdegrades by at least 5% if mixed into a syrup and held at 167° F. (75°C.) for 7 hours. The dipeptide sweeteners are particularly subject tosuch degradation.

For coated antacid chewing gum type products, the high level of calciumcarbonate or other antacid in the coating modifies the taste quality andgum texture. The addition of high-intensity sweeteners to the gumcoating improves the taste of the finished product. This also occurs insugar coated gums as well as polyol coated gums, so aspartame or otherhigh-intensity sweeteners may also be added to sugar coated gums withcalcium carbonate or other antacids.

In general, a chewing gum composition typically comprises awater-soluble bulk portion, a water-insoluble chewable gum base portionand typically water-insoluble flavoring agents. The water-solubleportion dissipates with a portion of the flavoring agent over a periodof time during chewing. The gum base portion is retained in the mouththroughout the chew.

The insoluble gum base generally comprises elastomers, resins, fats andoils, softeners and inorganic fillers. The gum base may or may notinclude wax. The insoluble gum base can constitute approximately 5% toabout 95% by weight of the chewing gum, more commonly the gum basecomprises 10% to about 50% of the gum, and in some preferred embodimentsapproximately 25% to about 35% by weight, of the chewing gum. In pelletgum center formulations, the level of insoluble gum base may be muchhigher.

In a particular embodiment, the chewing gum base of the presentinvention contains about 20% to about 60% by weight synthetic elastomer,about 0% to about 30% by weight natural elastomer, about 5% to about 55%by weight elastomer plasticizer, about 4% to about 35% by weight filler,about 5% to about 35% by weight softener, and optional minor amounts(about 1% or less by weight) of miscellaneous ingredients such ascolorants, antioxidants, etc.

Synthetic elastomers may include, but are not limited to,polyisobutylene with GPC weight average molecular weights of about10,000 to about 95,000, isobutylene-isoprene copolymer (butylelastomer), styrene-butadiene, copolymers having styrene-butadieneratios of about 1:3 to about 3: 1, polyvinyl acetate having GPC weightaverage molecular weights of about 2,000 to about 90,000, polyisoprene,polyethylene, vinyl acetate—vinyl laurate copolymers having vinyllaurate contents of about 5% to about 50% by weight of the copolymer,and combinations thereof.

Preferred ranges are: 50,000 to 80,000 GPC weight average molecularweight for polyisobutylene; 1:1 to 1:3 bound styrene-butadiene forstyrene-budadiene; 10,000 to 65,000 GBC weight average molecular weightfor polyvinyl acetate, with the higher molecular weight polyvinylacetates typically used in bubble gum base; and a vinyl laurate contentof 10-45% for vinyl acetate-vinyl laurate.

Natural elastomers may include natural rubber such as smoked or liquidlatex and guayule, as well as natural gums such as jelutong, lechicaspi, perillo, sorva, massaranduba balata, massaranduba chocolate,nispero, rosindinha, chicle, gutta hang kang, and combinations thereof.The preferred synthetic elastomer and natural elastomer concentrationsvary depending on whether the chewing gum in which the base is used isadhesive or conventional, bubble gum or regular gum, as discussed below.Preferred natural elastomers include jelutong, chicle, sorva andmassaranduba balata.

Elastomer plasticizers may include, but are not limited to, naturalrosin esters such as glycerol esters or partially hydrogenated rosin,glycerol esters of polymerized rosin, glycerol esters of partiallydimerized rosin, glycerol esters of rosin, pentaerythritol esters ofpartially hydrogenated rosin, methyl and partially hydrogenated methylesters of rosin, pentaerythritol esters of rosin; synthetics such asterpene resins derived from alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, and/ord-limonene; and any suitable combinations of the foregoing. Thepreferred elastomer plasticizers will also vary depending on thespecific application, and on the type of elastomer which is used.

Fillers/texturizers may include magnesium and calcium carbonate, groundlimestone, silicate types such as magnesium and aluminum silicate, clay,alumina, talc, titanium oxide, mono-, di- and tri-calcium phosphate,cellulose polymers, such as wood, and combinations thereof

Softeners/emulsifiers may include tallow, hydrogenated tallow,hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, cocoa butter,glycerol monostearate, glycerol triacetate, lecithin, mono-, di- andtriglycerides, acetylated monoglycerides, fatty acids (e.g. stearic,palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids), and combinations thereof

Colorants and whiteners may include FD&C-type dyes and lakes, fruit andvegetable extracts, titanium dioxide, and combinations thereof.

The base may or may not include wax. An example of a wax-free gum baseis disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,500, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

In addition to a water-insoluble gum base portion, a typical chewing gumcomposition includes a water-soluble bulk portion and one or moreflavoring agents. The water-soluble portion can include bulk sweeteners,high-intensity sweeteners, flavoring agents, softeners, emulsifiers,colors, acidulants, fillers, antioxidants, and other components thatprovide desired attributes.

Softeners are added to the chewing gum in order to optimize thechewability and mouth feel of the gum. The softeners, which are alsoknown as plasticizers and plasticizing agents, generally constitutebetween approximately 0.5% to about 15% by weight of the chewing gum.The softeners may include glycerin, lecithin, and combinations thereof.Aqueous sweetener solutions such as those containing sorbitol,hydrogenated starch hydrolysates, corn syrup and combinations thereof,may also be used as softeners and binding agents in chewing gum.

Bulk sweeteners include both sugar and sugarless components. Bulksweeteners typically constitute about 5% to about 95% by weight of thechewing. gum, more typically, about 20% to about 80% by weight, and morecommonly, about 30% to about 60% by weight of the gum. Sugar sweetenersgenerally include saccharide-containing components commonly known in thechewing gum art, including but not limited to, sucrose, dextrose,maltose, dextrin, dried invert sugar, fructose, galactose, corn syrupsolids, and the like, alone or in combination. Sugarless sweetenersinclude, but are not limited to, sugar alcohols such as sorbitol,mannitol, xylitol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates, maltitol, and thelike, alone or in combination.

High-intensity artificial sweeteners can also be used, alone or incombination, with the above. Preferred sweeteners include, but are notlimited to, sucralose, aspartame, N-substituted APM derivatives such asneotame, salts of acesulfame, alitame, saccharin and its salts, cyclamicacid and its salts, glycyrrhizin, dihydrochalcones, thaumatin, monellin,and the like, alone or in combination. In order to provide longerlasting sweetness and flavor perception, it may be desirable toencapsulate or otherwise control the release of at least a portion ofthe artificial sweetener. Such techniques as wet granulation, waxgranulation, spray drying, spray chilling, fluid bed coating,coacervation, and fiber extrusion may be used to achieve the desiredrelease characteristics.

Combinations of sugar and/or sugarless sweeteners may be used in chewinggum. Additionally, the softener may also provide additional sweetnesssuch as with aqueous sugar or alditol solutions.

If a low calorie gum is desired, a low caloric bulking agent can beused. Examples of low caloric bulking agents include: polydextrose;oligofructose (Raftilose); inulin (Raftilin); fructooligosaccharides(NutraFlora); palatinose oligosaccharide; guar gum hydrolysate(BeneFiber); or indigestible dextrin (Fibersol). However, other lowcalorie bulking agents can be used.

A variety of flavoring agents can also be used, if desired. The flavorcan be used in amounts of about 0.1 to about 15 weight percent of thegum, and preferably, about 0.2% to about 5% by weight. Flavoring agentsmay include essential oils, synthetic flavors or mixtures thereofincluding, but not limited to, oils derived from plants and fruits suchas citrus oils, fruit essences, peppermint oil, spearmint oil, othermint oils, clove oil, oil of wintergreen, anise and the like. Artificialflavoring agents and components may also be used. Natural and artificialflavoring agents may be combined in any sensorially acceptable fashion.

In general, chewing gum is manufactured by sequentially adding thevarious chewing gum ingredients to a commercially available mixer knownin the art. After the ingredients have been thoroughly mixed, the gummass is discharged from the mixer and shaped into the desired form suchas rolling sheets and cutting into sticks, extruding into chunks orcasting into pellets, which are then coated or panned.

Generally, the ingredients are mixed by first melting the gum base andadding it to the running mixer. The base may also be melted in the mixeritself. Color or emulsifiers may also be added at this time. A softenersuch as glycerin may also be added at this time, along with syrup and aportion of the bulking agent. Further parts of the bulking agent areadded to the mixer. Flavoring agents are typically added with the finalportion of the bulking agent. Other optional ingredients are added tothe batch in a typical fashion, well known to those of ordinary skill inthe art.

The entire mixing procedure typically takes from five to fifteenminutes, but longer mixing times may sometimes be required. Thoseskilled in the art will recognize that many variations of the abovedescribed procedure may be followed.

After the ingredients are mixed, the gum mass is formed into pellets orballs. Pellet or ball gum is prepared as conventional chewing gum butformed into pellets that are pillow shaped, or into balls. Thepellets/balls are used as cores for the coated product. The cores can besugar or polyol coated or panned by conventional panning techniques tomake a unique coated pellet gum. The weight of the coating may be about20% to about 50% of the weight of the finished product, but may be asmuch as 75% of the total gum product.

Conventional panning procedures generally coat with sucrose, but recentadvances in panning have allowed use of other carbohydrate materials tobe used in place of sucrose. Some of these components include, but arenot limited to, sugars such as dextrose, maltose, palatinose, andlactitol; or sugarless bulk sweeteners such as xylitol, sorbitol,hydrogenated isomaltulose, erythritol, maltitol, and other new polyols(also referred to as alditols) or combinations thereof. The coating maythus be a sugar coating or sugarless. These materials may be blendedwith panning modifiers including, but not limited to, gum arabic,maltodextrins, corn syrup, gelatin, cellulose type materials likecarboxymethyl cellulose or hydroxymethyl cellulose, starch and modifiedstarches, vegetables gums like alginates, locust bean gum, guar gum, andgum tragacanth, insoluble carbonates like calcium carbonate or magnesiumcarbonate and talc. Antitack agents may also be added as panningmodifiers, which allow the use of a variety of carbohydrates and sugaralcohols to be used in the development of new panned or coated gumproducts. Flavors may also be added with the sugar or sugarless coatingto yield unique product characteristics.

Another type of pan coating could also be used to complete the coatingprocess. This technique is referred to as a film coating and is morecommon for pharmaceuticals than in chewing gum, but procedures aresimilar. A polymer like shellac, zein, or cellulose type material isapplied onto a pellet-type product forming a thin film on the surface ofthe product. The film is applied by mixing the polymer, plasticizer anda solvent (pigments are optional) and spraying the mixture onto thepellet surface. This is done in conventional type panning equipment, orin more advanced side-vented coating pans. When a solvent like analcohol is used, extra precautions are needed to prevent fires andexplosions, and specialized equipment must be used.

Some film polymers can use water as the solvent in film coating. Recentadvances in polymer research and in film coating technology eliminatesthe problem associated with the use of solvents in coating. Theseadvances make it possible to apply aqueous films to a pellet or chewinggum product. This film may also contain a flavor along with a polymerand plasticizer. The high-intensity sweetener can also be dissolved orsuspended in the aqueous solvent and coated on the surface with theaqueous film.

After a coating film with a sweetener is applied to a chewing gumproduct, a hard shell sugar or polyol coating may then be applied overthe film coated product. In some instances a soft shell sugar or polyolcoating may also be used over the film coated product. The level of filmcoating applied to a pellet gum may be generally about 0.5% to about 3%of the gum product. The level of overcoating of the hard or soft shellmay be about 20% to about 60%. When the high-intensity sweetener isadded with the film coating and not with the sugar/polyol coating,better control of the amount of high-intensity sweetener in the productmay be obtained.

As noted above, the coating may contain ingredients such as flavoringagents, as well as dispersing agents, coloring agents, film formers andbinding agents. Flavoring agents contemplated by the present inventioninclude those commonly known in the art such as essential oils,synthetic flavors or mixtures thereof, including but not limited to oilsderived from plants and fruits such as citrus oils, fruit essences,peppermint oil, spearmint oil, other mint oils, clove oil, oil ofwintergreen, anise and the like. The flavoring agents may be used in anamount such that the coating will contain from about 0.2% to about 3%flavoring agent, and preferably from about 0.7% to about 2.0% flavoringagent.

High-intensity sweeteners contemplated for use in the coating includebut are not limited to synthetic substances, saccharin, thaumatin,alitame, saccharin salts, aspartame, N-substituted APM derivatives suchas neotame, sucralose and acesulfame-K. The high-intensity sweetener maybe added to the coating syrup in an amount such that the coating willcontain from about 0.01% to about 2.0%, and preferably from about 0.1%to about 1.0% high-intensity sweetener. Preferably the high-intensitysweetener is not encapsulated.

Dispersing agents are often added to syrup coatings for the purpose ofwhitening and tack reduction. Dispersing agents contemplated by thepresent invention to be employed in the coating syrup include titaniumdioxide, talc, or any other antistick compound. Titanium dioxide is apresently preferred dispersing agent of the present invention. Thedispersing agent may be added to the coating syrup in amounts such thatthe coating will contain from about 0.1% to about 1.0%, and preferablyfrom about 0.3% to about 0.6% of the agent.

When low or high amounts of calcium carbonate or other antacid is used,the calcium carbonate is dispersed or suspended in the coating syrupthat contains the sugar or polyol. Generally, as calcium carbonate isincreased, the sugar or polyol is decreased. Levels of calcium carbonateused may be as low as 5% of the total solids or as high as 50% of thetotal solids in the syrup, and more preferably will comprise about 10%to about 40% of the total solids.

Coloring agents are preferably added directly to the syrup in the dye orlake form. Coloring agents contemplated by the present invention includefood quality dyes. Film formers preferably added to the syrup includemethyl cellulose, gelatins, hydroxypropyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose,hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose and the like andcombinations thereof. Binding agents may be added either as an initialcoating on the chewing gum center or may be added directly into thesyrup. Binding agents contemplated by the present invention include gumarabic, gum talha (another type of acacia), alginate, cellulosics,vegetable gums and the like.

The coating is initially present as a liquid syrup which contains fromabout 30% to about 80% or 85% of the coating ingredients previouslydescribed herein, and from about 15% or 20% to about 70% of a solventsuch as water. In general, the coating process is carried out in arotating pan. Sugar or sugarless gum center tablets to be coated areplaced into the rotating pan to form a moving mass.

The material or syrup which will eventually form the coating is appliedor distributed over the gum center tablets. Flavoring agents may beadded before, during and after applying the syrup to the gum centers.Once the coating has dried to form a hard surface, additional syrupadditions can be made to produce a plurality of coatings or multiplelayers of hard coating.

In a hard coating panning procedure, syrup is added to the gum centertablets at a temperature range of from about 100° F. (38° C.) to about240° F. (116° C.). Preferably, the syrup temperature is from about 130°F. (54° C.) to about 200° F. (94° C.) throughout the process in order toprevent the polyol or sugar in the syrup from crystallizing. The syrupmay be mixed with, sprayed upon, poured over, or added to the gum centertablets in any way known to those skilled in the art.

In general, a plurality of layers is obtained by applying single coats,allowing the layers to dry, and then repeating the process. The amountof solids added by each coating step depends chiefly on theconcentration of the coating syrup. Any number of coats may be appliedto the gum center tablet. Preferably, no more than about 75-100 coatsare applied to the gum center tablets. The present inventioncontemplates applying an amount of syrup sufficient to yield a coatedcomestible containing about 10% to about 65% coating.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that in order to obtain aplurality of coated layers, a plurality of premeasured aliquots ofcoating syrup may be applied to the gum center tablets. It iscontemplated, however, that the volume of aliquots of syrup applied tothe gum center tablets may vary throughout the coating procedure.

Once a coating of syrup is applied to the gum center tablets, thepresent invention contemplates drying the wet syrup in an inert medium.A preferred drying medium comprises air. Preferably, forced drying aircontacts the wet syrup coating in a temperature range of from about 70°F. (21° C.) to about 115° F. (46° C.). More preferably, the drying airis in the temperature range of from about 80° F. (27° C.) to about 100°F. (38° C.). The invention also contemplates that the drying air possessa relative humidity of less than about 15 percent. Preferably, therelative humidity of the drying air is less than about 8 percent.

The drying air may be passed over and admixed with the syrup coated gumcenters in any way commonly known in the art. Preferably, the drying airis blown over and around or through the bed of the syrup coated gumcenters at a flow rate, for large scale operations, of about 2800 cubicfeet per minute. If lower quantities of material are being processed, orif smaller equipment is used, lower flow rates would be used.

The present invention also contemplates the application of powdermaterial after applying an aliquot of coating syrup to help build up thecoating.

For many years, flavors have been added to a sugar coating of pellet gumto enhance the overall flavor of gum. These flavors include spearmintflavor, peppermint flavor, wintergreen flavor, and fruit flavors. Theseflavors are generally preblended with the coating syrup just prior toapplying it to the core or added together to the core in one or morecoating applications in a revolving pan containing the cores. Generally,the coating syrup is very hot, about 130° F. (54° C.) to 200° F. (93°C.), and the flavor may volatilize if preblended with the coating syruptoo early.

The first coating syrup is preferably applied to the gum cores as a hotliquid, the sugar or polyol allowed to crystallize, and the coating thendried with warm, dry air. As noted above, the second coating syrup ispreferably held at ambient temperature, and can be applied simultaneousor sequentially with the first coating syrup. Aliquots of both syrupsare preferably applied in about 30 to 80 applications to obtain a hardshell coated product having an increased weight gain of about 25% to75%. A flavor is applied with one, two, three or even four or more ofthese coating applications. Each time flavor is added, severalnon-flavored coatings are applied to cover the flavor before the nextflavor coat is applied. This reduces volatilization of the flavor duringthe coating process.

For mint flavors such spearmint, peppermint and wintergreen, some of theflavor components are volatilized, but sufficient flavor remains to givea product having a strong, high impact flavor. Fruit flavors, that maycontain esters, are more easily volatilized and may be flammable and/orexplosive and therefore, generally these type of fruit flavors are notused in coatings.

EXAMPLES

The following examples of the invention are provided by way ofexplanation and illustration.

As noted earlier, the gum formulas can be prepared as sugar or sugarlesstype formulations and made in a pellet or pillow shape or a round ballor any other shape of product for coating/panning. However, gum formulasfor pellet centers are generally adjusted to a higher level of gum baseto give a more consumer acceptable size of gum bolus.

Keeping this in mind, if a coating of about 25% of the total product isadded to a pellet core as sugar or polyols, the gum base in the pelletcore should also be increased by 25%. Likewise, if a 33% coating isapplied, the base levels should also be increased by 33%. As a result,gum centers are usually formulated with about 25% to about 50% gum basewith a corresponding decrease in the other ingredients except flavor.Even higher levels of base may be used when calcium carbonate or anotherantacid is added to a pellet coating. Generally flavor levels in the gumincrease with the level of gum base as the base tends to bind flavorsinto the gum and more flavor is needed to give a good flavorful product.However flavors can also be added to the coating to give increasedflavor impact and more flavor perception.

A wide range of changes and modifications to the embodiments of theinvention described above will be apparent to persons skilled in theart. For example, while the invention is described with respect tohard-coated chewing gum, it will be appreciated that the process isapplicable to coating comestibles including other food products, such ascandies or other confectionaries, as well as other orally ingestedproducts such as pharmaceuticals, in which a coating with ahigh-intensity sweetener would have utility.

Some typical sugar type gum center formulations are shown in Table 1that can be used as centers that are coated with calcium carbonate togive an effective antacid.

TABLE 1 (WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. 1 EX. 2 EX. 3 EX. 4 EX. 5 EX. 6 SUGAR 48.048.0 46.0 40.0 39.0 36.0 GUM BASE 30.0 35.0 40.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 CORNSYRUP 20.0 15.0 12.0 18.0 14.0 12.0 GLYCERIN 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0PEPPERMINT 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 FLAVOR DEXTROSE — — — 10.0 10.0 10.0MONOHYDRATE

Higher levels of base may be used with a corresponding decrease in otheringredients. Also, other sugars may be used in the gum center.

Calcium carbonate can then be used in the coating formula on the variouspellet gum formulations. The following Table 2 shows some sugar anddextrose type formulas: Using a 1 gram center, the levels of calciumcarbonate in the following tables will give 250-800 mg per 1 or 2 piecesin 1.5-3.0 gram pieces with 33% to 66% coating.

TABLE 2 (DRY WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. 7 EX. 8 EX. 9 EX. 10 EX. 11 EX. 12SUGAR* 72.0 65.3 54.0 72.3 66.0 55.5 GUM ARABIC 2.0 3.0 4.0 2.0 3.0 4.0TITANIUM 0.5 1.0 1.0 — — — DIOXIDE CALCIUM 25.0 30.0 40.0 25.0 30.0 40.0CARBONATE FLAVOR 0.3 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.3 WAX 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1ASPARTAME* 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 *A 1:1 sugar/aspartame syrup isapplied as a separate coat. EX. 13 EX. 14 EX. 15 EX. 16 DEXTROSE 72.655.4 73.2 56.5 MONOHYDRATE* GUM ARABIC 1.5 3.0 1.5 3.0 TITANIUM 0.5 1.0— — DIOXIDE CALCIUM 25.0 40.0 25.0 40.0 CARBONATE FLAVOR 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.4WAX 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 ASPARTAME* 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 *A 1:1 dextrosemonohydrate/aspartame syrup is applied as a separate coat.

The above formulations are made by making a first coating syrup bydissolving the sugar and gum arabic in solution at about 75% solids atboiling, and suspending titanium dioxide and/or calcium carbonate inthis syrup. Flavor is not mixed with the hot syrup, but added at lowlevels with one or more coats. The sugar/aspartame syrup is applied inseparate coats. After the final coats are applied and dried, wax isapplied to give a smooth polish.

The above process gives a hard shell coating. Often a dry charge ofpowdered sugar or dextrose monohydrate may be used. This gives asomewhat softer coating. A dry charge may be used to build up a coating,but then finished with a straight syrup to obtain a hard shell. Table 3gives these types of formulas.

TABLE 3 (DRY WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. 17 EX. 18 EX. 19 EX. 20 EX. 21 EX. 22SUGAR** 62.4 51.3 — — 52.4 — DEXTROSE — — 62.2 51.0 — 41.8 MONO-HYDRATE** POWDER 10.0 5.0 — — — — SUGAR* POWDER — — 10.0 5.0 10.0 5.0DEXTROSE* GUM ARABIC 2.0 3.0 2.0 3.0 8.0 8.0 POWDER* GUM ARABIC — — — —4.0 4.0 SOLUTION FLAVOR 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.8 WAX 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.10.1 CALCIUM 25.0 40.0 25.0 40.0 25.0 40.0 CARBONATE ASPAR- 0.1 0.1 0.30.3 0.1 0.3 TAME** *Powder and/or crystalline sugar along with gumarabic may be blended with calcium carbonate, or calcium carbonate maybe suspended in the sugar or dextrose syrup. **A 1:1 sugar/aspartamesyrup is added as a separate coat.

In Examples 17-20, gum arabic is blended in the sugar syrup. In Examples21 and 22, gum arabic powder is dry charged after a gum arabic solutionis applied in the first stages of coating, then this is followed by ahard shell coating of sugar solution or dextrose solution. The 1:1sugar/aspartame syrup is used to improve the taste quality of thecoating.

Gum arabic may also be used in coating of sugarless gum centers. Likesugar gum centers, the base formulation can be increased in proportionto the amount of coating applied to the center. Generally, the baselevel may be increased to 30-46% with the other ingredientsproportionally reduced. Some typical gum formulas are in Table 4.

TABLE 4 (WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. 23 24 25 26 27 2829 GUM BASE 35.0 35.0 30.0 35.0 30.0 40.0 30.0 CALCIUM — — 5.0 15.0 10.0— — CARBONATE^(b)) SORBITOL 43.1 45.1 46.0 43.5 49.8 41.4 46.3 MANNITOL10.0 10.0 5.0 — — 8.0 10.0 GLYCERIN — 8.0 2.0 3.0 8.0 2.0 2.0 SORBITOLLIQUID 10.0 — 10.0 — — 6.0^(a)) 10.0^(a)) FLAVOR 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.5 2.0 2.01.3 ENCAPSULATED 0.4 0.4 0.5 1.0 0.2 0.6 0.4 HIGH-INTENSITY SWEETENER^(a))Lycasin brand hydrogenated starch hydrolyzate used instead ofsorbitol liquid ^(b))This material is base filler and may not release togive an antacid effect.

In the above center formulations, the high-intensity sweetener used isaspartame. However other high-intensity sweeteners such as alitame,acesulfame K, salts of acesulfame, cyclamate and its salts, saccharinand its salts, neotame, sucralose, thaumatin, monellin, dihydrochalcone,stevioside, glycyrrhizin and combinations thereof may be used in any ofthe examples with the level adjusted for sweetness.

Lycasin and other polyols such as maltitol, xylitol, erythritol,lactitol and hydrogenated isomaltulose may also be used in the gumcenter formulations at various levels. The texture may be adjusted byvarying glycerin or sorbitol liquid. Sweetness of the center formulationcan also be adjusted by varying the level of high-intensity sweetener.

Calcium carbonate can be used in sugarless coatings with xylitol,sorbitol, maltitol, lactitol, hydrogenated isomaltulose and erythritol.Gum arabic acts as a binder, film former and hardener of the coatedpellet. The following table gives formulas for a xylitol coating:

TABLE 5 (DRY WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. 30 31 32 33 34 35XYLITOL** 69.6 52.1 65.5 50.3 65.2 49.0 GUM ARABIC 4.0 6.0 7.0 8.5 8.510.0 FLAVOR 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.5 TITANIUM 0.5 0.9 — — — — DIOXIDETALC 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 WAX 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 COLOR* — — 1.4— — — CALCIUM 25.0 40.0 25.0 40.0 25.0 40.0 CARBONATE ASPARTAME** 0.20.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 *Lake color dispersed in xylitol solution **A 1:1xylitol/aspartame syrup is added as a separate coat.

The above formulas are used to coat pellets by applying a xylitol/gumarabic syrup and the xylitol/aspartame syrup in multiple coats and airdrying. Color or whitener is also mixed in the xylitol/gum arabic syrup.Calcium carbonate may be suspended in the xylitol hot syrup or added asa dry powder between syrup applications. After pellets have been coatedand dried, talc and wax are added to give a polish.

Like xylitol, erythritol coatings also require a binder, film former,and hardener in the coating to make an acceptable product. The followingformulations can be made:

TABLE 6 (DRY WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. 36 37 38 39 40 41ERYTHRITOL** 68.5 51.1 63.9 49.7 63.1 46.4 GUM ARABIC 5.0 7.0 8.5 8.510.0 12.0 FLAVOR 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.5 TITANIUM 0.5 0.9 — 0.5 0.5 0.5DIOXIDE TALC 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 WAX 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 COLOR*— — 1.4* — — — CALCIUM 25.0 40.0 25.0 40.0 25.0 40.0 CARBONATEASPARTAME** 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4 *Lake color dispersed in erythritolsolution **A 1:1 erythritol/aspartame syrup is added as a separate coat.

The above formulas are used to coat pellets by applying anerythritol/gum arabic syrup and an erythritol/aspartame syrup inmultiple coats and air drying. Color or whitener is also mixed in theerythritol/gum arabic syrup. Calcium carbonate may be suspended in thehot erythritol syrup or added as a dry powder between syrupapplications. After pellets have been coated and dried, talc and wax areadded to give a polish.

For coating formulas based on sorbitol, maltitol, lactitol andhydrogenated isomaltulose, gum arabic can be used as a binder and filmformer, and a crystallization modifier to help facilitate coating.Generally these polyols are more difficult to coat using only a straightsyrup, but with proper technique a good smooth hard shell can be made.However, it may be preferable to add a dry charge to quicken the dryingprocess before the pellets get too sticky. The following formulationsmay be used.

TABLE 7 (DRY WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. 42 43 44 45 46 47MALTITOL* 71.5 54.5 66.8 51.4 60.8 52.1 MALTITOL — — — 5.0 10.0 6.0POWDER GUM ARABIC 2.0 4.0 6.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 FLAVOR 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.3 1.0TITANIUM 0.5 0.5 1.0 0.5 0.4 1.3 DIOXIDE TALC 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1WAX 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 CALCIUM 25.0 40.0 25.0 40.0 25.0 35.0CARBONATE ASPARTAME* 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4 *A 1:1 maltitol/aspartamesyrup is added as a separate coat.

Maltitol powder is used to dry charge in the early stages of coating.Maltitol, gum arabic and whitener are blended into a first coating syrupand maltitol and aspartame are blended into a second coating syrup, bothof which are applied to the gum pellets. Calcium carbonate may beapplied with the first syrup suspension, preblended with powder maltitolor added as a dry charge. After all coating is applied and dried, talcand wax are added to give a polish.

In a similar manner, coatings with sorbitol, lactitol and hydrogenatedisomaltulose may be made in the coating formulas in Table 7 by replacingmaltitol with any one of the other polyols and maltitol powder with thepolyol powder. Like maltitol, the other polyols may become sticky duringthe coating and drying process, so the dry powder charge may be neededto give the proper drying. In the later stages of the coating process,less gum arabic could be used and a more pure polyol syrup could be usedto give a smooth surface. Also, the dry charge would only be used in theearly stages of the coating process.

In addition to dry charging with the specific polyol, other ingredientsmay be added to the dry charge to help absorb moisture. These materialscould be inert such as talc, magnesium carbonate, starches, gums likearabinogalactan, gum talha, gum arabic or other moisture absorbingmaterials. Also, powdered sweeteners or flavors could be added with thedry charge.

Polyols such as sorbitol, maltitol, lactitol and hydrogenatedisomaltulose are not sufficiently sweet compared to sugar or xylitol, sohigh-intensity sweeteners are added to the coating. Beside aspartame,other high-intensity sweeteners may also be used such as acesulfame K,salts of acesulfame, cyclamate and its salts, saccharin and its salts,alitame, sucralose, thaumatin, monellin, dihydrochalcone, glycyrrhizin,neotame, and combinations thereof. When adding calcium carbonate orother antacids, and a hot syrup is applied, heat and high pH may degradesome sweeteners if the inventive procedure were not used. Stablehigh-intensity sweeteners may also be added by the inventive procedure.In addition, stable high-intensity sweeteners may also be mixed with thefirst coating syrup containing the bulk sweetener.

Some typical sugar type gum center formulations are shown in Table 8 andcan be used as gum centers that may contain active medicaments. Activemedicaments such as analgesics, antitussives, anesthetics,anthihistamines, decongestants and antibacterial agents generally have abitter taste. Thus, the gum or gum coating, even though it may containsugar, will require more sweetening power to give an improved tastequality. Thus, aspartame may be added to the center of a gum formula oradded to a sugar coating of the chewing gum.

TABLE 8 (WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. 48 49 50 51 52 53 SUGAR47.9 47.7 45.5 39.9 38.7 35.5 GUM BASE 30.0 35.0 40.0 30.0 35.0 40.0CORN SYRUP 20.0 15.0 12.0 18.0 14.0 12.0 GLYCERIN 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.01.0 PEPPERMINT 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 FLAVOR DEXTROSE — — — 10.0 10.010.0 MONOHYDRATE ACTIVE AGENT 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.1 0.3 0.5

Higher levels of base may be used with a corresponding decrease in otheringredients. Also, other sugars may be used in the gum center.

Along with a possible active medicament, aspartame can then be used inthe coating formula on the various pellet gum formulations. In addition,low levels of calcium carbonate can improve the quality of the gumcoating. The following Table 9 shows some sugar and dextrose typeformulas:

TABLE 9 (DRY WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. 54 EX. 55 EX. 56 EX. 57 EX. 58 EX. 59SUGAR* 97.0 85.1 78.8 97.1 85.8 80.0 GUM ARABIC 2.0 3.0 4.0 2.0 3.0 4.0TITANIUM 0.5 1.0 1.0 — — — DIOXIDE CALCIUM — 10.0 15.0 — 10.0 15.0CARBONATE FLAVOR 0.3 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.3 WAX 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1ASPAR- 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3 TAME* ACTIVE — 0.1 0.2 — 0.2 0.3 AGENTS*A 1:1 sugar/aspartame syrup is applied as a separate coat. EX. 60 EX.61 EX. 62 EX. 63 DEXTROSE 97.4 85.0 93.0 86.25 MONOHYDRATE* GUM ARABIC1.5 3.0 1.5 3.0 TITANIUM 0.5 1.0 — — DIOXIDE CALCIUM — 10.0 5.0 10.0CARBONATE FLAVOR 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.4 WAX 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 ASPARTAME* 0.2 0.20.2 0.2 ACTIVE AGENTS — 0.2 — 0.05 *A 1:1 dextrose monohydrate/aspartamesyrup is applied as a separate coat.

The above formulations are made by making a first syrup by dissolvingthe sugar and gum arabic in solution at about 75% solids at boiling, andsuspending titanium dioxide and/or calcium carbonate in this syrup. Asecond syrup is made with the sugar and aspartame at room temperature.These two syrups can be applied sequentially or simultaneously. Flavoris not mixed with the hot syrup, but added at low levels with one ormore coats, or may be mixed into the second coating syrup if it willdissolve or be emulsified in an aqueous solution. After the final coatsare applied and dried, wax is applied to give a smooth polish.

The above process gives a hard shell coating. Often a dry charge ofpowdered sugar or dextrose monohydrate may be used. This gives asomewhat softer coating. A dry charge may be used to build up a coating,but then finished with a straight syrup to obtain a hard shell. Table 10gives these types of formulas.

TABLE 10 (DRY WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. 64 65 66 67 68 69SUGAR* 87.3 91.2 — — 72.0 — DEXTROSE — — 87.0 91.1 — 71.5 MONO- HYDRATE*POWDER 10.0 5.0 — — 10.0 — SUGAR* POWDER — — 10.0 5.0 5.0 DEXTROSE* GUMARABIC 2.0 3.0 2.0 3.0 8.0 8.0 POWDER* GUM ARABIC — — — — 4.0 4.0SOLUTION FLAVOR 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.8 WAX 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1CALCIUM — — — — 5.0 10.0 CARBONATE ASPAR- 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.4 TAME**ACTIVE — — 0.1 — 0.3 0.2 AGENTS *Powder and/or crystalline sugar alongwith gum arabic may be blended with calcium carbonate, or calciumcarbonate may be suspended in the sugar or dextrose syrup. **A 1:1sugar/aspartame syrup is applied as a seperate coat.

Examples 64-67, gum arabic is blended in the sugar syrup. In Examples 68and 69, gum arabic powder is dry charged after a gum arabic solution isapplied in the first stages of coating, then this is followed by a hardshell coating of sugar solution or dextrose solution.

Gum arabic may also be used in coating of sugarless gum centers. Likesugar gum centers, the base formulation can be increased in proportionto the amount of coating applied to the center. Formulations similar tothose found in previous tables for low and high moisture gum can be usedto make gum centers. Generally, the base level may be increased to30-46% with the other ingredients proportionally reduced. Some typicalgum formulas are in Table 11.

TABLE 11 (DRY WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. 70 71 72 73 747 76 GUM BASE 33.0 35.0 30.0 30.0 33.0 40. 30.0 CALCIUM 13.0 — 5.0 10.013.0 — CARBONATE* SORBITOL 46.5 44.5 45.3 40.2 43.66 41. 46.5 MANNITOL10.0 5.0 10.0 — 8. 10.0 GLYCERIN 4.0 8.0 2.0 — 8.0 2. 2.0 SORBITOL — —10.0 8.0 — 6.0^(a) 10.0^(a)) LIQUID FLAVOR 2.3 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.2 2. 1.3ENCAPSULATED 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.3 0.14 0. 0.2 HIGH-INTENSITY SWEETENERLECITHIN 0.4 0.4 0.4 — — — ^(a))Lycasin brand hydrogenated starchhydrolyzate used instead of sorbitol liquid ^(b))This material is basefiller and may not release to give an antacid effect.

In the above center formulations, the high-intensity sweetener used isaspartame. However other high-intensity sweeteners such as alitame,acesulfame K, salts of acesulfame, cyclamate and its salts, saccharinand its salts, neotame, sucralose, thaumatin, monellin, dihydrochalcone,stevioside, glycyrrhizin and combinations thereof may be used in any ofthe examples with the level adjusted for sweetness.

Lycasin and other polyols such as maltitol, xylitol, erythritol,lactitol and hydrogenated isomaltulose may also be used in the gumcenter formulations at various levels similar to those shown previously.The texture may be adjusted by varying glycerin or sorbitol liquid.Sweetness of the center formulation can also be adjusted by varying thelevel of high-intensity sweetener.

Low levels of calcium carbonate can be used in sugarless coatings withxylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, lactitol, hydrogenated isomaltulose anderythritol. Gum arabic acts as a binder, film former and hardener of thecoated pellet. The following table gives formulas for a xylitol coating:

TABLE 12 (DRY WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. 77 78 79 80 81 82XYLITOL 94.7 92.3 90.6 80.4 73.4 79.1 GUM ARABIC 4.0 6.0 7.0 8.5 9.210.0 FLAVOR 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.7 1.2 0.5 TITANIUM 0.5 0.9 — — 0.8 — DIOXIDETALC 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 WAX 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 COLOR* — — 1.4— — — CALCIUM — — — 10.0 15.0 10.0 CARBONATE ASPAR- 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.20.2 TAME** *Lake color dispersed in xylitol solution. ** A 1:1xylitol/aspartame syrup is applied as a separate coat.

The above formulas are used to coat pellets by applying a xylitol/gumarabic syrup and a xylitol/aspartame syrup in multiple coats and airdrying. Color or whitener is also mixed in the xylitol/gum arabic syrup.Calcium carbonate may be suspended in the xylitol hot syrup. Afterpellets have been coated and dried, talc and wax are added to give apolish.

Like xylitol, erythritol coatings also require a binder, film former andhardener in the coating to make an acceptable product. The followingformulations can be made:

TABLE 13 (DRY WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. 83 84 85 86 87 88ERYTHRITOL 93.6 91.2 88.8 79.9 73.1 76.4 GUM ARABIC 5.0 7.0 8.5 8.5 10.012.0 FLAVOR 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.5 TITANIUM 0.5 0.9 — 0.5 0.5 0.5DIOXIDE TALC 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 WAX 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 COLOR —— 1.4 — — — CALCIUM — — — 10.0 15.0 10.0 CARBONATE ASPAR- 0.2 0.3 0.40.2 0.3 0.4 TAME* *A 1:1 erythritol/aspartame syrup is applied as aseparate coat.

The above formulas are used to coat pellets by applying anerythritol/gum arabic syrup and an erythritol/aspartame syrup inmultiple coats and air drying. Color or whitener is also mixed in theerythritol/gum arabic syrup. Calcium carbonate may be suspended in thehot erythritol syrup. After pellets have been coated and dried, talc andwax are added to give a polish.

For coating formulas based on sorbitol, maltitol, lactitol andhydrogenated isomaltulose, gum arabic can be used as a binder and filmformer, and a crystallization modifier to help facilitate coating.Generally these polyols are more difficult to coat using only a straightsyrup, but with proper technique a good smooth hard shell can be made.However, it may be preferable to add a dry charge to quicken the dryingprocess before the pellets get to sticky. The following formulations maybe used.

TABLE 14 (DRY WEIGHT PERCENT) EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. EX. 89 90 91 92 939 95 MALTITOL* 91.6 84.6 76.8 71.6 63.8 54. 64.5 MALTITOL 5.0 10.0 15.012.0 12.0 12. 2.0 POWDER GUM ARABIC 2.0 4.0 6.0 5.0 5.0 7. 8.0 FLAVOR0.5 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.3 0. 1.3 TITANIUM 0.5 0.5 1.0 0.5 0.4 0. 0.7 DIOXIDETALC 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0. 0.1 WAX 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0. 0.1 CALCIUM —— — 10.0 18.0 25. 13.0 CARBONATE ASPARTAME* 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0. 0.3*A 1:1 aspartame/maltitol syrup is applied as a separate coating syrupor a 1:2 aspartame/maltitol syrup is added to the coating syrup justbefore being applied.

Maltitol powder is used to dry charge in the early stages of coating.Maltitol, gum arabic and whitener are blended into a first coatingsyrup. A second coating syrup containing aspartame and maltitol is madeas a separate syrup, and mixed with the first syrup just before it isapplied to pellets. Calcium carbonate is applied as part of the firstsyrup suspension. After all coating is applied and dried, talc and waxare added to give a polish.

Gum pellets having a composition shown in Example 70 were coated withmaltitol according to the coating formula in Example 95. The coating wasbuilt up from the application of three different coating syrups andmaltitol powder. One coating syrup included aspartame as ahigh-intensity sweeter. The aspartame coating syrup was prepared asfollows, and was designated syrup A:

1. 4.98 kg warm water (about 95-104° F., 35-40° C.) was used for makingthe mixture. No further heat was required.

2. 1.81 kg of maltitol powder was added and mixed until dissolved.

The solution temperature was verified as dropping to 81° F. (27° C.) orbelow.

3. 1.81 kg aspartame was added to the solution and agitated untildispersed.

4. 0.45 kg of a 40% gum talha solution was added to theaspartame/maltitol mix.

5. The resulting syrup was held at ambient conditions up to 8 hoursuntil used.

Two additional syrups, designated B and C, were made up according to thefollowing composition and held at 167° F. (75° C.).

SYRUP B, K SYRUP C, KG WATER 68. 92.0 MALTITOL 314. 293.6 40% GUM TALHASOLUTION 116. 52.0 TITANIUM DIOXIDE 5. 5.0 CALCIUM CARBONATE 64. 56.4TARGET BRIX 7 71

Syrup B was applied in the first 12 coating applications followed by theapplication of maltitol powder after each syrup coat to assist dryness.In each of coats 13-16, a first half portion of syrup B was applied,followed by the aspartame/maltitol syrup A, then the second portion ofsyrup B. This was repeated four times, comprising coats 13-16. Afterliquid was applied, maltitol powder was applied for dryness. After this,flavor was applied on coats 18, 20, 40 and 44. After all of the flavorwas applied, syrup C was used to finish the coating in 10 more coatingapplications. The 1.0 gram centers were coated to a finish piece weightof 1.52 grams and polished with carnauba wax and talc.

In another example, gum pellets of Example 70 were coated with maltitolaccording to the coating formula in Example 95. The aspartame coatingsyrup D was prepared as follows:

1. 1.81 kg aspartame was added to 5.43 kg room temperature water (about77° F., 25° C.) and mixed until the aspartame was uniformly dispersed.

2. 3.62 kg of powdered maltitol was blended in until uniform.

The following two coating syrups E and F were prepared according to thefollowing formula and held at 167° F. (75° C.).

SYRUP E, K SYRUP F, KG WATER 64. 96.0 MALTITOL 213. 222.0 40% GUM TALHASOLUTION 70. 40.0 TITANIUM DIOXIDE 1.9 1.92 CALCIUM CARBONATE 43. 43.0TARGET BRIX 7 69

Syrup E was applied in the first five coating applications followed bythe application of maltitol powder after each syrup coat. In a specialholding tank, at 167° F. (75° C.), all of the aspartame/maltitol syrup Dwas added to 60 kg of syrup E and this combined syrup was used in thenext five syrup coating applications, again followed by maltitol powderafter each application. Each application was dried in 6 minutes. Thusall syrup D was applied within 30 minutes of being mixed with syrup E.Another nine coats of syrup E were then applied, each coating of syrupbeing followed by maltitol powder. Flavor was added at coats 20, 22, 28,and 30. Syrup F was used starting at coat 28. A 1.0 gum center wascoated to 1.52 grams and polished with wax and talc.

It should be appreciated that the compositions and methods of thepresent invention are capable of being incorporated in the form of avariety of embodiments, only a few of which have been illustrated anddescribed above. The invention may be embodied in other forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive, and the scope of the invention, therefore,indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription. All changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of making coated chewing gum productscomprising the steps of: a) providing chewing gum cores; b) providing afirst coating syrup comprising a bulk sweetener; c) providing a secondcoating syrup separate from the first coating syrup and comprising abulk sweetener and a high-intensity sweetener, with the ratio of bulksweetener to high-intensity sweetener being between about 1:5 and about5:1; and d) applying the first and second coating syrups to the coresand drying the syrups to produce a coating on the cores.
 2. The methodof claim 1 wherein the first coating syrup further comprises an antacid.3. The method of claim 2 wherein the antacid comprises calciumcarbonate.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the calcium carbonatecomprises between about 5% and about 50% of the total solids in thefirst coating syrup.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first andsecond coating syrups are held in separate tanks prior to being appliedto the cores.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first and secondcoating syrups are mixed just prior to being applied to the cores. 7.The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second coating syrups areapplied to the cores at separate times.
 8. The method of claim 1 whereinthe first coating syrup is held for use in the coating process at atemperature of at least 130° F. (54° C.).
 9. The method of claim 1wherein the high-intensity sweetener is a high-intensity sweetener thatwould degrade by at least 5% if mixed into the first coating syrup andheld at a temperature of at least 167° F. (75° C.) for a period of atleast 7 hours.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the second coatingsyrup is held for use in the coating process at an average temperatureof less than 90° F. (32° C.).
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein thehigh-intensity sweetener comprises a dipetide sweetener selected fromthe group consisting of aspartame, alitame and neotame.
 12. The methodof claim 1 wherein the bulk sweetener in the first coating syrupcomprises sucrose.
 13. The method of claim 1 wherein the bulk sweetenerin the first coating syrup comprises a polyol.
 14. The method of claim13 wherein the polyol is selected from the group consisting of xylitol,maltitol, sorbitol, hydrogenated isomaltulose, erythritol andcombinations thereof.
 15. The method of claim 1 wherein thehigh-intensity sweetener comprises between about 20% and about 80% ofthe total solids in the second coating syrup.
 16. The method of claim 1wherein the bulk sweetener in the first coating syrup comprises apolyol, the first coating syrup further comprises from between about 10%and about 40% calcium carbonate by weight of the solids in the firstcoating syrup, and the high-intensity sweetener in the second coatingsyrup comprises aspartame.
 17. The method of claim 1 wherein the firstcoating syrup is held at an average temperature of at least 150° F. (66°C.) for an average period of at least 2 hours before being applied tothe cores.
 18. The method of claim 1 wherein the second coating syrup isheld for an average period of less than 4 hours.
 19. The method of claim1 wherein the coating is sugarless.
 20. The method of claim 1 whereinthe high-intensity sweetener is not encapsulated.
 21. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the bulk sweetener in the second coating syrup comprisesa polyol.
 22. The method of claim 1 wherein the high intensity sweetenercomprises aspartame.
 23. The method of claim 1 wherein the first coatingsyrup is essentially free of high-intensity sweetener.
 24. The method ofclaim 1 wherein a third coating syrup separate from both the first andsecond coating syrups and comprising a bulk sweetener is provided andapplied to the cores to produce the coating.
 25. The method of claim 1wherein a powdered bulk sweetener is applied to the cores afterapplication of syrup.
 26. The method of claim 1 wherein a portion of thefirst coating syrup is applied to the cores, followed by application ofthe second coating syrup, followed by further application of the firstcoating syrup.
 27. A chewing gum product made by the method of claim 1.28. The method of claim 1 wherein the application of the first andsecond coating syrups involves applying one of the first and secondsyrups both before and after the other of the first and second syrups isapplied.
 29. The method of claim 1 wherein the bulk sweetener in thefirst coating syrup comprises maltitol and wherein the bulk sweetener inthe second coating syrup comprises maltitol.
 30. A method of makingcoated chewing gum products comprising the steps of: a) providingchewing gum cores; b) providing a first coating syrup comprising a bulksweetener and holding the first coating syrup at an average temperatureof at least 100° F. (38° C.); c) providing a second coating syrupseparate from the first coating syrup and comprising a high-intensitysweetener and holding the second coating syrup at an average temperatureof less than 90° F. (32° C.); d) applying the first and second coatingsyrups to produce a coating on the cores.